Noah's Javalina

[syd34]

Last year my oldest boy Noah (12) drew his first javalina tag. We spent a few weekends scouting and found two large herds. Unfortunately, once the season started we never saw hide nor hair of a javalina.... This year the story reversed itself. Noah drew a rifle tag in Unit 33. We spent two weekends hiking and glassing areas where we had seen javalinas in years past. In the two weekends we never saw a javalina. Noah was pretty bummed out and wasn't very excited about his hunt. Saturday morning, we go up early and walked into a spot we didn't get to scout this year. We glassed for a couple of hours and found some nice whitetail bucks and a half-dozen does. We started walking further into the Rincon Mountains and found a broken tipped three-point shed. After several hours we decided that the next hill top would be the last one that we would glass from and then make our way back to the truck. As soon as we started glassing I found one javalina on a ridge about 1/2 a mile from us. We quickly packed our gear and walked to an area that put us about 220 yards from the javalina. Noah was shooting a Kimber Montana chambered in 300 WSM with a Leupold 4.5-14 x 40. He has spent a lot of time and my $ practicing with the rifle. Both he and i were confident that a 200 yard shot was reasonable.

 

Once we set up at 220 yards we saw an additional two javalinas for a total of three. The javalinas were working there way down the ridge towards us. Due to all of the brush Noah was having a hard time finding the animals in his scope and getting set up before they would move. After a few minutes we lost sight of the three javalinas. We sat still for several minutes and I told Noah that i thought they had bedded down because we would have seen them in any direction they traveled had they done so. Noah and i very carefully began to stalk into the area where we had last seen them. Noah was on the crest of the ridge and i was about 15 yards to his left military cresting the ridge. As we closed in on the location where we had last seen the javalina, we could hear them huffing and snorting. In an instant the javalinas had caught our scent and began to scurry through the mesquite and ocotillo covered ridge top. The three javalinas we had seen earlier were part of a heard of about 10+. Noah stood still on the ridge and a javalina crossed the ridge line about ten yards in front of him, when it decided to stop. That's all Noah needed. One round from the 300WSM at ten yards clearly did the trick.

 

Another great day in the field with my son!

 

 

[tjhunt2]

Glad to see it all come together this year for Noah. Congratulations to the both of you and memory making for sure. That's a big pig. Thanks for sharing your story and pictures.

 

TJ

[CouesWhitetail]

Congratulations Noah!! way to stick with it. 10 yard shot with a 300WSM...wow!

[grey curse]

congrates Noah way to get it done

[Couestracker]

Congratulations to Noah on his first javelina! Sounds like it would have been "another great day in the field with him" even if he hadn't been successful, happy for you both that he was though! 300 WSM at 10 yds? Holy hamburger!

[Chef]

Good quick thinking Noah! Sometimes all you need is a little window of opportunity, like when the javelina stopped, for you to make a quick shot...and you did!

 

Congratulations!

[bonecollector]

Congrats to Noah and yourself.

[Adicted]

congrats guys.

[AZLance]

Great job Noah! Love seeing kids succeed!

[randyolson]

That's fantastic!! Congratulations to Noah on his fine Javelina he harvested!